


Jealous of a Cutie-Patootie

by Lemon (lemon_sprinkles)



Series: Soldier's Heart [5]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kaidan is jealous, M/M, Of a dog, Tickle Fights, Tummy rubs, little bit o' smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 16:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10745919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemon_sprinkles/pseuds/Lemon
Summary: No, Kaidan was definitely not, in any way, shape, or form, jealous of a dog. Except when he was in every way, shape, and form, jealous of a dog.Collaboration with 200fishes on tumblr! Go check out their stuff and reblog all their artwork!





	Jealous of a Cutie-Patootie

**Author's Note:**

> This was a collaboration between 200fishes on tumblr and myself. They did the adorable, amazing, and incredible artwork, and I wrote this abomination of a fluff fic. I hope you enjoy both the art and the story! I know I sure had a lot of fun :)
> 
> Set in the Soldier's Heart universe.

 Kaidan Alenko had been described to people as a rock. He was the type of person who you could count on to be that stabilizing entity in the middle of a hurricane force wind; the kind of guy who, no matter the matter, was there for you, unwavering and strong in his support.

 When Shepard had been pulled from the rubble of an almost lost war, broken and mangled, suffering from all sorts of injuries both visible and internal, Kaidan had been there for him. And when Shepard came home with a waver in his step and darkness in his eyes like the light had been snuffed out, Kaidan had been there. And when Shepard finally crumbled completely in on himself, Kaidan was there trying to glue the pieces back together—trying to repair Shepard’s heart enough that they could both remember what it was like to feel complete and whole and safe.

 When loved ones asked if Kaidan needed any help, he brushed them aside. With a tired smile and a humble chuckle he’d tell them he was alright; that caring for Shepard wasn’t a burden; that he wasn’t tired _all_ the time, just sometimes, and that Shepard was improving slowly but surely. All they needed was time.

 But Kaidan also needed a break. Years of being that rock had worked right into his soul, instilling him with this naïve belief that everything _was_ okay, when it clearly wasn’t. Kaidan’s day to day consisted of keeping Shepard level—keeping him on the road to recovery when Shepard kept tipping off or straying in opposite directions. Nights were spent watching Shepard stare up at the ceiling, body tense with fear as he struggled to remain present and in the moment; not suffocating in space or crushed under the rubble.

 The unending love and appreciation Shepard had for Kaidan—the kisses and the hugs, the little jokes and those brief, joyous moments of happiness—kept Kaidan going. But it wouldn’t be enough. Not always.

 And then Cosmo came into their lives.

 A Doberman with more black than brown, gangly limbs and floppy ears and a tail, Cosmo cut quite the image. He trotted up to Shepard, pressed his nose against his hand, and that was it—Shepard was sold. Shepard said he didn’t care if having a service dog ruined his ‘image’, nor did he care that Cosmo would be a reminder to the world that the Great Commander Shepard had demons that he couldn’t fight alone.

 Cosmo had become more than those things to Shepard; he had become a lifeline.

 Kaidan watched as the therapy sessions and the constant, reassuring presence of Cosmo began to work their way into Shepard’s life. Shepard began to calm down, no longer jumping at the slightest noises or reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. The panic attacks were less frequent, with Cosmo sensing them before they could start. He kept Shepard present and steady; he guarded him from the monsters under the bed and the terrors in the night. He was Shepard’s loyal companion, who never tired, never wavered, and never stopped his vigil. He was a constant in Shepard’s life right from the word ‘go’.

 And Shepard dotted on Cosmo.

 Shepard had always been a bit gruff and closed off, his tender side only coming out around Kaidan. But then Cosmo arrived and suddenly Shepard became a bizarre mix of hard-ass military meets motherly bake-sale aficionado. Their closet was suddenly taken up with brightly coloured scarves that Shepard would tie around Cosmo’s neck whenever they went out—a different colour for every day of the week. When Shepard took up knitting he made Cosmo countless numbers of sweaters; all sorts of colours and patterns, and all of them custom made with loving care. Kaidan, of course, got his own sweaters and toques, but the way in which Shepard carefully stitched every little detail on to Cosmo’s sweaters told Kaidan all he needed to know.

 Shepard baked dog treats that he’d give to Cosmo and the neighbor’s tiny Pomeranian, and he’d spend countless amounts of credits on new toys for Cosmo (even though Cosmo preferred a stick he’d plucked from the river and a chewed up, mangled hedgehog stuffy).

 Cosmo was Shepard’s baby. His ‘little rocket ship’, ‘fuzzy-wuzzy’, ‘killer’, and his ‘cutie-patootie’.

 And Kaidan was just Kaidan.

 If you had asked Kaidan if he was jealous of a dog he’d laugh and shake his head. Of course he wasn’t jealous of a dog. Sure, Cosmo got a lot of affection and attention, but Kaidan was Shepard’s _everything_. He was Shepard’s partner, his brother in arms, and his fiancé—everything and then some. It didn’t bother Kaidan that Cosmo got extra attention because Cosmo was just a dog; a dog that deserved the love and affection he inspired in Shepard, because he _worked_ for it. Keeping Shepard present was a full-time job, and Kaidan appreciated the help from Cosmo.

 No, Kaidan was definitely not, in any way, shape, or form, jealous of a dog.

 Nope. No way.

 Except when he was in every way, shape, and form, jealous of a dog.

XX

“You alright down there?” Kaidan asked.

 Shepard was sitting on the lawn in their backyard, wrestling with Cosmo who was doing his best impression of a limp noodle. He wiggled around in Shepard’s arms, tail wagging and legs kicking about, narrowly missing Shepard’s face now and again. Shepard didn’t seem to mind, a grin on his face as he rough housed in the backyard.

 “I’m fine,” Shepard said, laughing when Cosmo stilled and grinned up at him, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

 Kaidan put Shepard’s glass of water down on the patio table and leaned against the edge, watching the two of them. Shepard’s crutches were abandoned a distance away, and Kaidan briefly wondered how he got where he was with only one leg.

 He was adjusting well to the amputation.

 Probably because of Cosmo.

 “Are you sure? You haven’t been out of the hospital for all that long. Your leg is still healing…”

 Shepard looked up at Kaidan, one of his hands locked gently over Cosmo’s muzzle. Cosmo wiggled free without issue and nipped playfully at Shepard.

 “I’m fine, K. It feels good to sit on the grass.”

 Kaidan nodded and continued to watch the two wrestle on the ground. Eventually they slowed down, Cosmo lying half on Shepard’s lap on his back, his belly thoroughly rubbed and tickled.

 It was then that Kaidan embarrassed himself.

 “How come you never rub my tummy?” he asked.

 He blushed and snapped his mouth shut as soon as he said it. He could feel his cheeks going crimson, the back of his neck flushing with heat that wasn’t entirely from the sun.

 Shepard stopped his belly assault and looked up at Kaidan with his brow quirked.

 There was silence.

 Cosmo took the lull in their wrestling as an opportunity to grab his toy, and he leapt up from Shepard’s lap and bounded off into the backyard.

 The silence was now punctuated by the frantic squeaking of Cosmo’s toy in the background.

 “You want me to… rub your tummy?” Shepard asked, and his mouth slowly relaxed into a cheeky smile.

 Kaidan shook his head, arms crossing over his chest. “N-No, that’s not what I meant.”

 Shepard was grinning.

 “It isn’t? What did you mean, then?”

 “Nothing,” Kaidan answered defensively.

 Shepard was still grinning. Cosmo busied himself with his toy in the corner of the yard like he knew how embarrassing the situation was. He was just _that_ intuitive.

 “Sure, alright, K,” Shepard said. Raising his hand he wiggled his fingers at Kaidan. “Help me up?”

 Kaidan sighed with relief, grateful Shepard was dropping it, and made move to help Shepard. But as soon as their hands locked Shepard was pulling down instead of up, working against Kaidan and pitching him forward. He almost face-planted into the grass but caught himself on Shepard’s shoulder, the two tumbling down together.

 “What the hell, Shepard!”

 Shepard didn’t answer and instead began his assault. Nimble fingers worked their way up Kaidan’s shirt and began tickling their way along Kaidan’s stomach, while a warm nose poked the side of his neck before lips pressed a massive raspberry against his neck.

 Kaidan screamed—high pitched and completely and utterly embarrassing—before laughter cracked through the squeals, Kaidan unable to stop. His first reaction was to get away, and he wiggled around on top of Shepard, pushing and grabbing at his hands but never managing to get away completely. Shepard continued his attack, finding all of Kaidan’s weak-points and hitting them—one after the other—in a full frontal assault.

 Kaidan was ticklish and Shepard knew it.

  _What a fucking bastard._

 Grabbing the hem of his shirt, Kaidan tried to push it down along with getting Shepard’s hands away, but Shepard just wrapped his one leg around Kaidan’s waist and flipped their position, wrestling him down on to the grass. Kaidan continued to wiggle, laughing and bucking up against Shepard’s fingers and kisses, but it just made things worse. His movements caused his shirt to ride up and his shorts to fall down his hips, and instead of just being at the mercy of Shepard’s tickles, he was now half-naked, pinned to the ground, and squeaking like Cosmo’s toy.

 Shepard was laughing, deep and carefree, and Kaidan felt it against his chest and neck. There was a brief pause in their struggle where Shepard’s hands became gentler, and his lips more like kisses than raspberries, but the oddly intimate moment was broken by a barking Cosmo and Shepard attempting to motorboat Kaidan’s pecs.

 Kaidan began to laugh again, but his broken pleas seemed to do the trick, and Shepard’s tickle attack calmed down enough that Kaidan could push him off. Shepard landed on the ground next to him with an exaggerated ‘oomf’, and they lay on the lawn, a mess of tears and laughter and rosy pink cheeks.

 “You’re a bastard,” Kaidan said once he could speak again.

 Shepard just hummed, and Kaidan caught a smug smile out of the corner of his eye.

 “You wanted tummy rubs,” Shepard said.

 “Rubs, John—not tickles.”

 Shepard rolled on to his side and slid his hand across Kaidan’s stomach, rubbing the hairs near the band of his shorts.

 “So you admit it, eh? You wanted tummy rubs?”

 Kaidan blushed again, but didn’t stop Shepard’s hand. It _did_ feel nice…

“I’m not admitting to anything,” he said with a pout.

 “Admit it, K… you’re jealous.”

 Kaidan didn’t admit it. Shepard just chuckled and kissed the corner of his jaw. They remained lying on the lawn, Shepard rubbing Kaidan’s stomach innocently. Until it slowly became less innocent the lower Shepard got. Staring up at the clear blue sky, Kaidan gripped Shepard’s arm but didn’t push him away, even as Shepard’s hand trailed down past his already low waistband.

 There was movement up above, and Shepard blocked the view of the sky as he hovered above Kaidan. His cheeky smile was gone, instead replaced with softly parted lips and a flicker of desire in his eyes.

 “But you do like this, hm?” he asked.

 Kaidan could only moan.

 Shepard slipped his hand down and began rubbing in an entirely different place, and Kaidan found himself spreading his legs. Shepard ducked down and began kissing—really kissing—Kaidan’s chest, stopping at a nipple where he sucked and nipped while his hand began rubbing _and_ stroking.

 Kaidan got lost in the sensation. They were in their backyard in the middle of the day-time, with anyone who cared to look able to see what they were doing, but none of that mattered. What mattered was Shepard’s hand on him, his lips against his skin, and the heavy panting of—

 Kaidan’s eyes flew open, and he looked over to see Cosmo staring at them.

 Kaidan shoved Shepard away, almost punching him in the head as he scrambled to right himself in front of Shepard’s ‘cutie-patootie’.

 “Cosmo…” Shepard said, frowning. Cosmo just barked and trotted over to Shepard.

 For a second Kaidan thought maybe they’d go back to playing—it seemed highly probable given Shepard’s inability to focus on anything  else when Cosmo wanted to play—but then he simply gave Cosmo a quick pet and a kiss to his forehead, before he sent him off to his kennel in the backyard. Cosmo went happily enough, and lapped at his fresh bowl of water before disappearing in the cool, shaded confines of his (lavish) dog house.

 “Help me up,” Shepard said, reaching both hands up to Kaidan.

 “You’re not going to tickle me again, are you?” Kaidan asked. Even as he said this, he reached down and pulled Shepard up, steading him and acting as his second leg.

 “Nah. I thought maybe we could continue the ‘tummy rubs’ in the bedroom?” Shepard asked, nuzzling their noses together.

 “Tummy rubs?” Kaidan asked, his brow quirked.

 “Yeah… and dick and ass rubs.”

 Kaidan chuckled. “Subtle.”

 “You were laughing pretty hard, K. Might have lost some much needed oxygen going to your brain, so I’m just making it easier for you,” Shepard said, patting the top of Kaidan’s head.

 He was leaning fully on Kaidan, their chests and waists pressed tight together, and he kept kissing Kaidan on the lips—quick little pecks intermitted with smiles meant only for Kaidan.

 Cosmo could do a lot of things for Shepard—he was his constant companion; that stabilizing force that Shepard needed when Kaidan couldn’t be there for him. He picked up the slack and made it easier for both Shepard and Kaidan to live their lives. But Shepard still needed Kaidan. Cosmo couldn’t hold Shepard up, and he couldn’t offer him advice and listen to his fears. Cosmo couldn’t share in the bond that Shepard and Kaidan had forged through fighting together, nor could he share in the human experience.

 Shepard needed Cosmo, but he also needed Kaidan. He’d always need Kaidan. And Kaidan would always be there for him.

 No, Kaidan wasn’t jealous of a dog. Not all the time. Just sometimes. Occasionally.  Like when tummy rubs were on offer.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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